CITU OPPOSES PENSION FUND REGULATORY AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BILL, LABOUR LAW AMENDMENT

On the same day, March 25, the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) expressed its strongly opposition to the introduction of the PFRDA Bill in parliament a day before. The CITU said the bill was part of the government’s neo-liberal pro-corporate agenda to change the concept of pension as “defined benefit” to the workers after retirement to a “defined contribution” by the workers. This makes a mockery of pension as a social security scheme, with the onus of funding and regulation of the scheme shifting from the government or employer to a regulator. The main objective is to divert the pension contribution by the workers to the share market and corporate equity funds.

This bill, initiated during the NDA regime, could not be pushed through because of the opposition by the working class outside the parliament and by the Left parties in the parliament. But the CITU is of the opinion that in a surreptitious manner the UPA government of the Congress party and its allies has kept the avenues open to the regulator for unlimited foreign investment in pension fund without requiring the parliament’s assent. This shows how the present government is in connivance with the major opposition party, the BJP, in surrendering to the pressure of the international finance capital.

The CITU has also strongly opposed the introduction of a labour law amendment bill proposing exemption from furnishing returns and maintaining registers by certain establishments. The bill, if passed, would exempt more than 80 per cent of existing establishments in the country, to ignore virtually all labour laws of the land, as they would not be required to maintain any records of workers working within their establishments. The CITU, along with other central trade union organisations, has been opposing this so called ‘labour reform’ bill which will usher a jungle law in the industry.

The CITU has calls upon the working class to intensify their ongoing struggle against the above legislations, so that the corporate captive government is forced to withdraw the above bills from the parliament.

Courtesy: www.pd.cpim.org/